PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp wins Mexico Open

Field Level Media|published: Sun 25th February, 18:17 2024

Jake Knapp tees off at the 10th hole at the 2021 Visit Knoxville Open PGA Korn Ferry Tour at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, May 13, 2021. The competition runs through Sunday. Single-day tickets are available for $10. Kns 2021 Visit Knoxville Open credits: Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Jake Knapp carded an even-par 71 in his final round, fended off Finland's Sami Valimaki by two shots and won the Mexico Open at Vidanta for his first PGA Tour title on Sunday in Vallarta, Mexico.

The tour rookie entered the day with a four-shot lead on Valimaki and played with him in the final Sunday pairing at Vidanta Vallarta. After a shaky start with bogeys at Nos. 1 and 3, Knapp scrambled for a pair of birdies at Nos. 7 and 14.

He proceeded to save three straight pars before hitting his tee shot at the par-5 18th hole into a bunker. But Valimaki, sitting two back, had his drive land under the out-of-bounds fence and he had to take an unplayable lie and a penalty stroke.

Knapp calmly got out of the bunker and finished up with a par to shoot 19-under 265 over four days in Mexico. Valimaki also managed a par to tie up a final-round 69 and a 17-under week.

Knapp, 29, is now fully exempt on tour through the 2026 season and has played his way into The Players Championship, the Masters, the PGA Championship and the five remaining signature events of 2024.

—Field Level Media

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